Cat’s Cradle: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut (New York: Dial Press, 1998; originally published in 1963. 304 pp) Kurt Vonnegut was a fourth-generation German-American who lived in easy circumstances on Cape Cod (while smoking too much), who, as an American infantry scout hors de combat, as a prisoner of war, witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany, “the Florence of the Elbe,” a long time ago, and survived to tell the tale. Vonnegut blended black humor, satire, and science fiction into a unique contribution to American letters. He died in 2007. Men and Women of a Certain Age For men and women of a certain age, mutual assured destruction is not an answer on a history quiz but a fearful reality…. Read More →